howies®

I have some news.  Today will be my last day steadying-ish the helm of the Carnaby Street store.

I have had an amazing time working for howies – a company that really does what it says on the tin.  It isn’t a marketing facade, the people who work for this company really are splendid – and what they are trying to do in changing the way people conduct business is actually working!  

I have been given the opportuntiy to move on and work with Sustrans on a variety of sustainable transport policy issues.  I am excited about what the future holds and also grateful for what I have learned and experienced over the past seven months.

It isn’t really a proper goodbye since I will still be loitering around at the Wee Do lectures and helping out with the occasional sample sale.  Also I have been promised a starring role in the next catalogue shoot – along with my own trailer and cold sparkling water whenever I ask.  So that is nice.

Without being too gushy, yet also also engaging with my sensitive nature, I wanted to thank all the customers who have come into the store over the past few months.  You guys have some seriously interesting lives.  Thanks for sharing your stories, jokes, cakes, germs, and giggles. 

Finally, if you haven’t yet had the chance to stop by the London store you are really missing out.  There are six really awesome people waiting for you to come in – so why not take five minutes, over the coming weeks or months, and pop in to say hello……..I promise it will be worth your while.

Hold onto your hats people!  We have the wonderful people (and dogs) from Battersea Dogs Home coming in next Tuesday 3rd November (7.30pm) to give a Wee Do lecture on their work – they will be bringing in two of their canine friends to assist with providing the more technical elements of the talk.

This is going to be a fantastic event.  We are massive dog people here at the Carnaby Street store - next to our till we have two dog breed books, a pack of 3d dog cards, and four dog puzzles.  We all prefer mutts, but we also just put together our top five dog breed lists to celebrate the moment.  What would yours be?

As an added bonus we are providing a sneaky 10% discount, for half an hour, at the end of the talk – just a little bonus seeing as we just took delivery of our winter collection. 

As usual the talk is free – however if you put your name down, but are unable to make it please let us know since others will loose out otherwise – just contact us at the store (0207 287 2345 / carnabyst@howies.co.uk).  We will also have free organic beer and juice. 

We will be taking donations from attendees for Battersea Dogs Home should you feel so inclined. 

To say that I am excited is not a lie.

The howies mini sale continues at Carnaby Street……..

We had a large delivery today of mens grey Drovers, Audreys, Brooks, Downhill Jumpers, and mens polo shirts – among other things!

So, don’t wait until the weekend!  We are open till 8pm Thursday and 7pm the rest of the week.

Oh, and we also have a cheeky deal on some older teepay Tees – £15 each or 3 for £30.  Beautiful.

(….there is also a rumour going around that the next Wee Do in London is Battersea Dogs Home – and they are bringing dogs!)

and here is a clip from our BioRegional Wee Do!

I have been a little remiss.  I haven’t been quite as quick on the posting of Wee Do clips as in the past.  So, as a result, I am posting two (of three) clips today. I realise that this may cause interest overload and result in a insatiable desire to see the full length versions.  However, I feel that it is worth the risk.  The full talks will be available in the wink of an eye (or a tug of the trouser leg if you happen to be a mason) on the Do Lectures Website.  Until then please enjoy these wee snippets.

…..if it was only a few degrees colder, it would be snowing!

This January my wife is due to give birth to our first baby.  We are really, really excited.  However, we are also a a little bit bummed that we most likely won’t be heading the mountains this winter. 

But that is okay – we were hugely fortunate to get in over 50 days in two years living in Colorado – and at somepoint in the next two or three years we hope to call the mountains home once again. 

Until such a time, we can at least get our fix from watching movies.  Maybe. 

Enjoy.

Since I last blogged about our Rainforest Foundation Wee Do event, one week ago, over 140,000 acres of rainforest has either been burned or cut down. 

The numbers are staggering – to help gain perspective why not find out a little more about the work of the Rainforest Foundation.   We are literally destroying this planet’s lungs on a daily basis – help by coming along and learning how we can kick the habit.

Tuesday 20th October – 7.30pm.  Tickets (which are free) are running low but we still have a few left.  We will have free organic beer and juice available.

On Wednesday we will be having a model shoot for our next catalogue……….to celebrate we are seeking musical suggestions for wednesday.

What music should we be listening to in the shop on Wednesday?  Obviously it needs to be “shop friendly-ish” – other than that we are open to all, and any, suggestions. Perhaps it would be funny to suggest songs that have a “model” connection?

We are hoping to have our spotify account linked up to the stereo. 

Why not come in on Wednesday – say hello to the models, listen to some eclectic world music chosen by you (the people), take a look at our full Autumn lineup, and finally have a nice chat with us.

Hopefully see you Wednesday!

“We cannot sit back and watch plant species disappear like so many lights going off in the darkness”

- Paul Smith, Millennium Seed Bank

The wild banana seed (Musa itinerans) marks the 10% mark for Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank – a project which aims to collect and conserve seeds from 25% of the world’s flowering plants by 2020.

The seed bank partnership, which involves more than 120 organisations in 54 countries, stores the seeds under conditions that will allow them to be regrown should the need arise.  All samples are kept at Wakehurst Place, West Sussex, where they are stored in temperature controlled underground vaults. 

Over the next ten years the aim is to secure a further 15% of the world’s seeds - with a focus on bio-diversity, food security, and climate change. 

As exciting, and scientifically significant, as I think the project is – I hope that we never get to the point where we have to turn to the seed bank, beyond reinstating what are already seriously endangered species.  However, unless we put a halt to climate change, redress our intensive agricultural methods, and slow the destruction of our natural habitat we may not need to test the longevity of the storage process much beyond fifty years. 

What seed would you want to see saved?  It is hard to decide.  I think that my choice would be an acorn from the English Oak.  Obviously, I would be relying on other people to save seeds from plants that I could actually eat…….

It should be a fantastic talk – the organisation have just celebrated their 20th Anniversary in London. 

Tickets are free – just give us a ring (0207 287 2345) or email (carnabyst@howies.co.uk) to reserve your ticket.  We will also have free organic beer (Pitfield) and fruit juice available. 

The talk will start at 7.30pm.  Look forward to seeing you there.